Another Snowboarding Sunday

Snowboarding again today! Woke up at 6:15, had a banana for a light breakfast, then set off with another ALT friend at 7:10ish for Maiko in Niigata! Thankfully the expressway was good today with no traffic or accidents, so the drive was only an hour and 11 minutes. Got there at the planned 8:30am (yay for free parking on Sundays at Maiko!) and then got some rentals sorted out for some other ALTs joining us, and then finally hit the slopes by 9:00am ish! Maiko is definitely a bigger ski resort than all the other day trip ones that I’ve been to. It was also probably the most crowded one I’ve been to so far too! It’s separated into two areas, and you can take a lift across this mini gorge to get to the other side. We parked on the gondola side initially so we did the long as gondola run for a while – it’s a massive 6km run! It’s super fun, except it really was crowded + a lot of newbies blocking up the slopes, so you had to be extra attentive and I couldn't really do any big carves. I had a fall on one of the steeper slopes and twisted my wrist pretty bad, so I took a break and had an early lunch at the top café – the view was great! Had taco rice and chips and ginger ale for lunch. Made my way slowly down the course to get my wrist checked at the first aid centre. The nurse there was so nice and understanding, and she was using google translate on her phone for medical terms I didn't know the Japanese for, it was so cute. We concluded that it wasn’t quite a sprain, because no matter where she pressed it didn’t hurt, it only hurt when I moved it, and I couldn't really put any strength in my hand. But other than that it was fine, so she strapped it up for me (that menthol sticky patch felt so good) and then I went back up on the slopes for a few more runs before calling it a day. Had Dippin Dots and a very delicious crepe at the bottom while waiting for my friends to finish up. The drive home took a lot longer because of some traffic, so it was an extra half hour drive. Stopped at the drugstore on the way home to pick up some stuff for my wrist, and then went home and unpacked. Everything took a lot a longer just using my left hand, but I’m now a master at using my left hand to brush my teeth and wash my face haha. I just really hope it heals up in time by next weekend because I’ve got a Hakuba trip planned with accommodation booked and everything!